Pepper damage

[fortyonenorth]

Someone or something is preying upon my unsuspecting peppers. Hot or mild - it doesn't seem to matter. The damage in this picture is pretty major. In other cases it is much smaller holes. Invariably, it's near the stem end and generally high up on the plant. My guess is birds, but I haven't seen any culprits. There are plenty of other varmints around - raccoon, chipmunks, deer - but I don't really think they are responsible for this. Interestingly, I'm growing one pepper (Bacskai Fehrer) which matures from ivory>orange>red. They haven't touched it at the ivory stage, even though the plant is loaded with peppers and it is in a very vulnerable part of the garden.

Any ideas?

[mdvpc]

I have never seen bird damage on any of my peppers. That looks like some other critter.

[fortyonenorth]

The raccoons go for the low-hanging fruit. I would assume squirrels and chipmunks would do the same. It may be notable that the tomatoes that are planted adjacent to the peppers have been untouched.

[Boutique Tomatoes]

I've seen birds do this to mine, generally just as they start to turn color. @$!% things don't have capsaicin receptors so they don't get leary if they hit a hot one.

I had deer jumping the fence into my garden last year, but strangely after they ate a bhut they didn't bother it any more. I wish I'd put a trail camera out for that.

[fortyonenorth]

I'm still not 100% sure what's doing this, but I have two suspects. We have a roaming band of wild turkeys who seem unafraid of traversing the deck where my peppers are planted. I haven't seem them take an interest in the peppers (they seem more content with defacing my immature squash and melons) but I haven't ruled them out.

The second possibility is a flock of goldfinches. I've seen them alight on the pepper cages and, with their numbers, I think they could do a good amount of damage in a short amount of time. I'm more inclined to think they are the culprits.

I'm still curious about their avoidance of the ivory colored peppers. Do birds see in color and/or is there any reason why these peppers would escape their interest? I don't think it has anything to do with taste. They are about the size of a medium bell and very fruity. Seems like a good choice for a bird, but not a bit of damage all season - not even a nibble.

[lurley]

I think birds don't realize the white pepper is something they want to eat. They never touch my golden raspberries either while I have to protect all the red and black ones. Just not a color they are used to seeing and associating with yummy goodness I think.

[tjg911]

house finches peck the heck out of my broccoli heads so bad i made a pcv cage a few years ago and cover it with bird netting. it's 5' tall and a major pita to get into and move around cutting shoots but it stopped the problem.

if it is turkey's maybe you can scare them off. turkeys are very smart and if you make it so they are uncomfortable they may well avoid the garden.

tom

[swamper]

could be mice looking for seeds. are these fruits close to the ground?

[fortyonenorth]

In most cases, these are high on the plant and the damage is always right near the stem. One of the reasons I figure birds is that's the only place they could get enough leverage to puncture the fruit.

Originally Posted by swamper

could be mice looking for seeds. are these fruits close to the ground?